I've been curing salmon for going on thirty years, using Russian recipes I've been given by new immigrants. It is insanely easy to do, and a fraction of the cost of buying smoked salmon in the store. (In fact, you don't even have to "smoke" it with smoke. A half oz of liquid smoke and a half oz of cheap scotch whisky poured over the fish after the initial patting dry and before applying the salt mixture does the trick quite nicely.) A few points I've learned over 30 years. NEVER, NEVER, EVER use table salt in the cure. It MUST be coarse, kosher (style) salt or you are going to wind up with a metallic tasting, impossibly salty, inedible mess! I did it once, never again. Next, Tom let the fish brine for 3 days. I used to do that too. It's a critical mistake. 3-4 days, you will have a hard, rubbery piece of fish. You can see his flattened chunk of fish before he smokes it, and not only does it feel like rigor mortise has set in, it's very, very salty. Brining for 24-36 hours is more than enough, and result in a perfectly flavored, non salty, soft fish. 12-24 hour of brining is fine if you are going to smoke it - the fish will be moister, and softer. Otherwise, thanks for the fennel tip! Sadly, I put up my latest batch of brining about two hours ago, so that has to wait. I encourage you to try it, what Tom has done is an incredibly forgiving recipe, as long as you do not use table salt, you cannot possibly ruin this recipe! Enjoy!

OMG I can't get enough of these. Keep them coming.

This is always an oldie and a goodie. I make this every holiday season thanks to you and Britt. I’ve actually started making filets for my neighbors as holiday gifts. Suffice to say no one says “no thanks.”

It was a pleasure meeting you in person after watching all of your vids for years, from Japan to New Mexico to Kansas to finally KC. Keep the recipes coming.

This pops up while I'm eating a smoked salmon cream cheese bagel! Great way to start my day

Thank you for how to do it when it is warmer out! It is now very early summer here in CT, and I want to do this. I am getting a cold smoking tube, and was really looking on how to do this now, and not in the colder months. Thank you, and God bless you Chef Tom :)

I've been waiting for this video, I cannot wait to try it on my Yoder 640! Thanks for making it!

Beautiful recipe Chef. I cold Smoked some cheese lat week and have been wanting to try salmon. I appreciate what you do for the community. 🍻

Chef Tom that is amazing. I wondered at first why I couldn’t see your breath lol. I’ve watched and learned from you for many years hope the appreciate how skilled you are! Nicely done. 🍻

I have absolutely no desire to make this or eat this but I had to watch all the way thru because your videos are so 5 star. I was not disappointed 👍🏻

Man I like smoked salmon, going to have try that recipe. Thanks Tom.

My man! I am so doing this when I get back from deployment, that’s my go breakfast meal! I can’t wait to try it for myself.

While I have all the proper gear, I still haven't cold-smoked salmon. When I do, I'll use your method. Your "how-to" video is the best I have seen on this subject. Thank you very much.

I want to try this. My husband always smokes salmon for me, but it isn’t the cold smoke. The last smoked salmon he fixed was delicious-I love it with cottage cheese.

Just made this for Christmas Day brunch and it was incredibly delicious and tasty! Everyone loved it and now i am making it for New Year’s Day. Thank you for such great recipes!

my god you beautiful cooking man. You always make everything look so good

Simply delicious chef thank you for sharing this one with me.

Man I’m so happy you guys did this! You guys and Mr. Reed are the two I trust the most! I made this with someone else’s recipe and it was wayyy salty. Can not wait to try this one! Thank you as always!

I made cold smoked salmon every year, but the next time I will do it in your style 👍👍👍

Really nice job on that Salmon. Beautifully smoked. I’d probably substitute dill for fennel but that’s down to taste. Great video

Great Video and instructions... thanks so much!!

Got it curing in the fridge .... first time trying this, but I am starting to learn about cured meats, fermented vegetables/ sauerkraut, cold smoking and how all of this can be applied to not only BBQ, but some really nice horderves or main dishes for parties etc.

adding capers gives it that nice acidic taste that plays off of the smoke beautifully....good recipe....

There's a cool little bistro in Sacramento where we used to go on the weekends. One of my favorites was there gravlax and bagels.

Looking good 👍. I'm going to try this out.

this looks so delicious!

Thank you Chef Tom! I have always wanted to make my own smoked salmon, now I know how! What would you do differently in a grill that does not have fans to blow the smoke from the cylinder smoker?

Your grilling & smoking techniques are like a play-by-play football commentator!

great quality of vedeio and smoking salmon possession. I like it.

I love me some cold smoked salmon!

Chef Tom, you've rekindled my passion for BBQ...so much so that I gave my son my propane grill and bought a Yoder with options and seasonings. QUESTION: do you have a recipe for smoked tuna? Similar to salmon? I fish the Sea of Cortez (Cabo) frequently and would love to smoke some tuna on my new grill. Keep the recipes coming!

Great looking product, a lot of time and effort.👍🏼

Great video sir! Looks incredible

I made a smoked salmon cheese ball during the holidays using this, so good!!

Awesome as usual!

Another great video!

Awesome video! Thanks man!!!

Wow that looks amazing..!

Çok basit ve çok güzel tarifler paylaşıyor

Thank you for this! :)

Très très bon Chef Tom!!!!

I need that bagel right now!

Amazing!

Great video! Thanks

Awesome video, as always very informative. Thank you

Looks delicious 😋

Many thanks mate !!!

Hi Tom! Do I have to use (compulsory) sashimi-grade salmon (previously flash-frozen) or I can take my fresh catch and proceed with the cure and cold smoke? Thanks!

Great video Brother.

MAGICAL!!!

looks so yummy and legit :)

ooooooh, nice tease on that smoked salmon chowder

Super nice video. Thanks

Great job my friend

@3.57 the salmon fillet is diff as in its a belly fillet....after 3 days it turns into a tail side fillet !!!!....lol

Skin crisped in toaster oven over crunched foil is omg delish, my dog taught me that.

Made this salmon, came out super delicious. Make sure you have a long and sharp knife to cut it properly. Some other recipes call for 10-12 hours smoking. I did about 6, and 4-5 probably more then enough. Question. Must salmon have a skin on? If I take a skinless salmon, will it get over salted?

Thanks for the idea, especially about putting a bowl of ice in. I didn't know you could just leave the Yoder on with the fan running like that.

I like this guy

I've make this a lot, its probably one of my favorite recipes. I just noticed on the filet I have today though that it's skinless. Will that make a significant impact or is it still fine?

HI! Thanks for the awesome video. In your printed recipe, it states to toast the anise, but in the video you do not. Which method is correct?

OMG, awesome brow, congratz

I have that same measuring cup set :D

I too want to know what that hot plate is. Great video as usual!

Have cold smoked salmon this way and it came out delicious! Is there any safety or health reason you can't use same process on cod, herring, haddock etc.? When I type in cold smoking cod, some articles warn that it must be further hot cooked to 140 F which I did, wound up with fish jerky. Appreciate any thoughts.

is there a way to do his on an offset smoker or a Weber grill?

Well Done👍👍

You should do a 60 day aged brisket I want to see what your opinion on it :)

Can’t wait to try! How long does this hold in the fridge? Can you vac seal and freeze batches of this?

I didn't know they allowed Tom inside.

What brand and model is the induction hot plate?

My exact words to my wife "Tell me we don't need a pellet smoker after this."

how long can i keep this for? Can I make this a few days beforehand? Should I refrigerate it sliced or keep it whole and slice the day of?

Can any heat be used while smoking with my Yoder? Probably gonna be 10 or 20 degrees BELOW zero outside when mine is cured. I'm thinking my salmon might freeze before it's smoked!!

id love to see you make some polish kielbasa

Another question! I just finished slicing mine. I could not find anything that wasn’t farm raised other than sockeye. Maybe it doesn’t have the fat content that it needs. Mine came out more like jerky than the smoked salmon I’ve had. Fairly dry, super salty, but a good flavor. I followed your recipe exactly other than the type of salmon. Any suggestions for next time?

I'm making lox? I need to lower the salinity with a water bath after the brine process. If I cold smoke it for 4 hours Is pink salt cure necessary in the dry brine?

Is there any advice on the smoking part. I’ve used a smoking tube similar to the one in the video, but my salmon ended up cooked after just 3 hours. I was very confused since I didn’t think the smoke would completely cook it. I guess outside temps weren’t cold enough and a tray of ice would have fixed the problem?

The heat coming off Chef Tom's breath has him looking like a bowling alley vaper.

Hi, brilliant video, can I use softwood pellets? Thanks

Finally!

this entire video was aromatic

Can you do this on a charcoal grille and can you use wood instead of pellets?

When you add brown sugar to the cure does it make it sweet in the end product?

What do you use for a hot plate?

Do you lose all the great oils of the aromatics in the cloth as you crush them?

Those fennel seeds look a lot like caraway. Caraway is very popular in Germany, where it is known as "Kümmel".

Can you do this only using salt?

Got any info that you can share on the induction burner you used to toast the spices?

I have a question. Can we use any salmon or does it need to be sashimi grade for this recipe? I was wondering since we aren't really cooking it.

That looks great. Could you do this without the skin on the Salmon or do you need it to hold the fish together?? Thanks

Coffee/spice grinder to get them peppercorns opened up along with the rest of them spices...🙂👍

Great video! Can I do this on any pellet smoker?

Eggs Bennie with cold smoked sockeye now on my radar.....

Another great recipe, I’m going to try this one out for sure. Not big into salmon fishing though, just wondering if anyone has tried this with a lean fresh water fish such as pike or walleye?

You should do Biscuits and Gravy

Great tutorial on the cure. Holy crap it looks cold there.

I do have a question for you. In comparison salmon technique. Curing your salmon versus just smoking your salmon. Why do we need to cure salmon?

What happens if you take the skin off the salmon before the curing and smoking process?

Would like to see a good chicken Vindaloo recipe!